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NBA: New papa Tony Parker sparks San Antonio Spurs over the Dallas Mavericks

Associated Press

Posted:
04/30/2014 09:49:58 PM PDT

Updated:
04/30/2014 10:31:10 PM PDT

Tony Parker had 23 points hours after the birth of his first child, and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in a 109-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, taking a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.

Vince Carter led Dallas with 28 points. After averaging 16 points in the series' first four games, teammate Dirk Nowitzki found his stroke in scoring 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting for the Mavericks.

Carter's 3-pointer with 3 minutes left pulled Dallas within 98-94, but Parker followed a minute later with his only 3-pointer of the game.

Parker was playing on a sore ankle and little sleep after his fiancee, Axelle Francine, gave birth to a son, Josh.

"It was crazy, 'cause it happened last night, late," Parker said. "I didn't sleep. I basically didn't sleep the whole night and just played on adrenaline today. I'm a happy man right now."

San Antonio was 8 for 16 from 3-point range and had 24 assists while committing just six turnovers.

"They moved the ball well and, of course, they got a lot of layups, so that's most of it," Carter said. "We just have to go back to the drawing board and let it all hang out."

Rockets 108, Trail Blazers 98: Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score 21 points and help Houston beat Portland to avoid elimination. The Trail Blazers now lead the series 3-2.

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A basket by Damian Lillard got Portland within two points before James Harden stepped back and swished a 3-pointer to make it 103-98 with about three minutes left.

Harden's shot was the start of a 12-0 Houston run to close it out. He finished with 17 points and seven assists.

Houston finally slowed down LaMarcus Aldridge, limiting him to eight points, after he averaged 35.3 points in the first four games. Wesley Matthews led the Blazers with 27 points and Lillard added 26.

Raptors 115, Nets 113: Kyle Lowry had 36 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer after Toronto had blown a 26-point lead, and the Raptors beat Brooklyn to take a 3-2 series lead.

DeMar DeRozan added 23 point for the Raptors.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points for the Nets, who rallied in the fourth quarter with 44 points.

Toronto led 94-72 with 11:23 to play. But Brooklyn rallied, and two free throws by Andray Blatche and a 3-pointer by Mirza Teletovic tied it at 106 with 1:23 left. Lowry made a 3 to put the Raptors ahead for good.

Lakers: Embattled coach Mike D'Antoni resigned after less than two seasons on the job. He had one more guaranteed year at $4 million but was dismayed when the Lakers declined to pick up his option for the 2015-16 season at another $4 million.

The Lakers went 27-55 last season, setting the franchise record for most losses.

A phone message left for D'Antoni wasn't returned, but general manager Mitch Kupchak said, "Given the circumstances, I don't know that anybody could have done a better job than Mike did the past two seasons. On behalf of the Lakers, we thank Mike for the work ethic, professionalism and positive attitude he brought to the team every day."

Clippers: Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings expects his fellow owners to vote unanimously to force Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers. "I would be surprised if this was not a unanimous vote," he said.

Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and said he will press the other teams to support his desire to make Sterling sell. Silver's sanctions Tuesday were in response to Sterling's racist comments.

Jamal Crawford is the Sixth Man of the Year for the second time in his NBA career. Crawford was the NBA's top-scoring reserve at 18.6 points per game.